Netherlands online gambling market kicks off October

The Netherlands' online gambling sector is scheduled to launch on October 1, 2021. The Dutch Senate adopted the Remote Gambling Act in February 2019 after years of delay.

The Netherlands' online gambling sector is scheduled to launch on October 1, 2021. The Dutch Senate adopted the Remote Gambling Act in February 2019 after years of delay. In the Netherlands, the land-based gambling market is highly regulated. It is dominated by Holland Casino, which operates 14 casinos, the state lottery, charity lotteries, a monopoly on lotto and sports betting, a monopoly on horse racing, and private operators of 42,000 slot machines in arcades, bars, and restaurants. In the Netherlands, online gambling is presently illegal. The existing legislative framework makes no provision for the issuance of licenses for the provision of internet gambling. This is about to change, as the country is preparing to adopt the Koa Act, which will replace the existing Games of Chances Act, which goes all the way back to 1964. René Jansen, Chairman of the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), stated that "in the end, our work centers around the player's and consumer's interests." While maintaining a fair market is critical, it is also a method of allowing customers to participate safely.” The application procedure for internet gaming licenses began on April 1st, 2021, and the market will open six months later. Size of the Online Gambling Market The Netherlands is home to 17.15 million people, and 99.2 percent of them have a high-speed mobile connection. 96% of the population has access to the internet, 95.7 percent possess a smartphone, 84.5 percent own a laptop or desktop computer, and 55.5 percent own a tablet device. The average amount of time spent online across all device types is 5 hours 28 minutes. While internet gambling is more accessible than land-based games of chance, the online gambling market continues to be significantly smaller than the land-based sector. According to a research issued by the KSA, the Dutch online gambling sector earned gross gaming revenue of €424 million in 2019. The land-based industry generated €2.7 billion in GGR, according to the same study. After the KOA Act takes effect, the online market is anticipated to grow to €513 million euros in 2021 and a staggering €1.27 billion euros in 2025. License for Online Gambling in the Netherlands The market is only available to the following licensing types: Casino games in which players compete with the house;

• Casino games in which participants compete with one another;

• Bets on occurrences occurring during a sporting event or on the result of sporting events;

• Bets on the outcome of horse races and harness racing arranged by the Dutch Draff or under its auspices.

The Dutch regulator, the Netherlands Gambling Authority, is in charge of licensing and market surveillance. The licensing procedure began on April 1st, 2021, and therefore applications are currently being accepted as of the date of writing this article. To get a gaming license, applicants must meet the following requirements: possess a registered office within the European Union or the European Economic Area;

• The CDB data repository must be physically isolated from the operator's gambling system in the Netherlands; "The regulation mandates that the CDB final data repository be physically segregated from the operator's gambling system in the Netherlands." Both may be housed in the same data center if the operator so desires; however, data saved in the CDB's primary ultimate data repository must be logistically and physically isolated from other data.”

• The license's continuation must be reasonably assured;

• produce a report confirming that the applicant is not bankrupt and that no payments or assets are being garnished.

There is no restriction on the number of approved licenses, which means that anybody who meets all of the regulator's standards is eligible to acquire one. The license is valid for 5 (five) years and the cost is EUR 48,000. Without A License, Do Not Operate All applications for online gambling shall also be evaluated against the policy's requirements, which include operating without a permission. No applicant shall operate on the Dutch market for a period of two years and nine months before the date of application submission and during the application's processing. When the following requirements are satisfied, an operation is declared illegal: The game promotion was place on a website with the extension.nl;

• The game selection was entirely or mostly in Dutch;

• The applicable offer or its provider advertises on Dutch television, radio, or print media;

• For the games on offer, a domain name incorporating Dutch-specific words was used in conjunction with the classification of games of chance;

• The website(s) on which the games of chance were provided had any characteristics that may be interpreted as indicating a concentration on the Netherlands;

• It was possible to pay for the games of chance given using methods of payment that are solely or primarily utilized by the Dutch;

Taxation of Online Gambling Currently, the tax is 30.1 percent, and the operator's gross gaming revenue (GGR) is used to compute the tax. The tax rate was increased from 29 percent to 30.1 percent on January 1, 2018, to compensate for the state's revenue loss owing to the delay in enacting the Online Gambling Act. According to a regulator news statement, the gambling tax will be restored to 29 percent six months after the Online Gambling Act takes effect. This market has fairly lofty expectations. The Netherlands took its time – and at the expense of repeated delays – in preparing their regulatory framework to meet the high standards of the gaming sector.